Jannik Sinner wins in Madrid but what is worrying is his health condition, in particular a hip problem which on the central court of the Mutua Madrid Open risked compromising the second set against Pavel Kotov.
These are Sinner’s words at the end of the match:
“I’m not worried but I’ve felt a bit of discomfort for some time now, already in Monaco. It doesn’t worry me too much about the future but it’s not very good. I’m trying to find a solution. From now on in the tournament I will find increasingly stronger opponents and therefore I have to raise my level. If I go on the field it means that I am able to play. If I don’t go on the field – but the chances are very, very low – it will be for my own good, for the next tournaments, but I feel quite calm.”
But the “mystery” is not so much linked to Sinner’s health conditions as to two rather unusual events. The first: the South Tyrolean does not hold a press conference at the end of the match but meets some journalists in the mixed zone. Journalists who, contrary to what happens for all other players, are not notified in the work chat.
Second: tomorrow, for the round of 16, Sinner – the number 1 seed in the tournament – will play on the Arantxa Sanchez court and not on the central court. Two rather strange facts.
Photo by Brigitte Grassotti
